January 26, 2010

CHICAGO – The Haitian people are "living with hope," reported Louis Dorvilier, a member of the churchwide staff of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He said despite many difficulties for survivors of the Jan. 12 earthquake, Haitians living in temporary shelters can be heard singing and worshiping – similar to eyewitness reports of other ELCA members in Haiti in the days after the disaster.

Dorvilier arrived in Haiti Jan. 22 to join a response and strategy team of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) Department for World Service and the Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alliance.

As many as 150,000 people have died and thousands more were injured as a result of the earthquake, according to the Haitian government.

"My role is to help with coordination and connect the LWF program to the Haitian society, the churches and the community organizations, and to coordinate meetings with U.N. (United Nations) and the government," he said in an interview with the ELCA News Service by satellite phone. Dorvilier, director for international development and disaster response, ELCA Global Mission, is a native of Haiti.

Dorvilier said about 1.1 million people were left homeless by the disaster. Priorities for the LWF response team, he said, are "food, water and shelter."

"Food is where the challenges are because the commerce (provided) the food. Most of their warehouses were destroyed, and the food is under the rubble," he said.

The ACT Alliance, an international ecumenical disaster response organization of which the LWF and ELCA are members, is working with the U.N. and a consortium of nongovernmental organizations to help people "leave the city of Port-au-Prince," Dorvilier said. The LWF is establishing camps for internally displaced people, said Dorvilier, part of a strategy group for the camps. "The strategy is to have at least 10,000 people per camp site," he said.

Dorvilier said the LWF and ACT are setting up camps in Gressier, a town west of Port-au-Prince, one of the areas hardest hit by the quake.

"Port of Port-au-Prince is coming slowly to life," he said. ‘There is lots of traffic in the eastern part of the city. The downtown of Port-au-Prince is in the western part the city, and that's where there's helplessness."

The LWF team met Jan. 24 with Sweden's ambassador to Haiti, he said. The team visited a camp for displaced people at Petionville, where they provided water, Dorvilier said.

More than $1.6 million has been contributed to the ELCA through Jan. 22, most given by congregations and members. The ELCA committed to send an initial $300,000 to the LWF for water and sanitation, tents, blankets and hygiene kits, according to a report from ELCA International Disaster Response.

Another $150,000 is going to Church World Service (CWS), New York, for health kits and blankets, some of which arrived last week in Port-au-Prince from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. This week, CWS will ship from the Dominican Republic medicines and medical supplies to treat routine ailments for about 1,000 adults.

"The ELCA's principal partner for collection of material aid is Lutheran World Relief (Baltimore)," the report said. An initial $150,000 was sent by the ELCA to LWR to help with "transportation of lifesaving material resources to Haiti from U.S. warehouses. Initial material items include health kits, nursing kits and blankets. Future material aid will include school kits for children," the report said.

Financial contributions to support relief efforts in Haiti can be made at http://www.ELCA.org/haitiearthquake/, or by calling 800-638-3522.

ELCA News Service